While politicians are still debating whether or not Israel’s elections will be held on time, and the mood in Israel is still shadowed by the ongoing conflict in Gaza and southern Israel, the Green Movement-Meimad is continuing to reach out to the Israeli public. The party’s election event will be this coming Sunday at the Convention Center in Ramat Aviv. Everyone is invited to attend and meet the party’s candidates, activists and supporters and transportation is available from all over Israel. Sunday, 18 January, 18:30, Ramat Aviv Convention Center (גני התערוכה), Purple Prime hall.

A new party without huge cash reserves or support from vested business interests, we’re depending on the good work and will of hundreds of activists and thousands of supporters. One excellent source of support and inspiration (an Obama-esque source) is the blogosphere. Three in the blogosphere who have weighed in with a positive take on the Green Movement-Meimad party are author/journalist/blogger (South Jerusalem) Haim Watzman, Jewish Climate Initiative blogger Yannai Kranzler, and teacher/writer/blogger/activist Elana Sztokman.

The overlap between environment, education, and social justice creates a powerful and inspired platform – all in the name of Judaism. “We’re talking about ‘nutritional security’,” says Tal. “We want to bring compassion back, a certain type of internal harmony, a community that has a strong sense of social justice.” And this requires political activism.

The new party, the only party running whose list is exactly 50-50 men and women, reflects the pluralism and wholesomeness of its message. “What I like about this merge is how it blends secular, young Jews and mostly religious or traditional Jews,” Tal emotes. “We were so excited about a partnership with this party, even though they had a rabbi with a black suit on as their head and the people in our party were much more secular – because we thought that was something as a statement of sorts. It was good for the country. All the polarization that exists in Israeli society is fabricated by larger parties and manipulated by them. While in fact, on the key day-to-day issues, we don’t have any problems, and we have the same visions.”

The rest of Sztokman’s wonderful interview is here. Watzman’s piece (which prophesied the merger of the Green Movement and Meimad) is on Jewcy, here, and Kranzler’s supportive piece is here. We appreciate all three bloggers and their efforts to bring about a social-environmental revolution in Israel.

A good start: 1 in 6 residents in my apartment block explicitly support the Green Movement-Meimad!